


The Adventures of Prince Charming & Anthony Stark

by Gosh_Mr_Big_Brain



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Once Upon A Time, Arranged Marriage, Btw i made up so much shit about the arc reactor, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, I love maria hill, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Prince Charming Steve, Royalty, Snow White Tony, Warning- I have no idea what I'm doing, also, and you can bet, i am getting her and sharon carter together because hell yeah, i know you can't actually shoot lasers out of it, i'm not trying to make her a bad person???, i'm thinking about the suit and, if i actually continue this, it was just needed for the plot, it'll be great, tbh?, this was a hell of a lot easier
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-17 22:47:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15471798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gosh_Mr_Big_Brain/pseuds/Gosh_Mr_Big_Brain
Summary: After a series of unfortunate circumstances, Anthony Stark has been sentenced to death by the Evil Queen and forced to live the rest of his life as an outlaw in his own kingdom. One day, Tony makes one of the worst (or perhaps the best, he'll recount later) decisions of his life by robbing the carriage of one Steve Rogers, a former penniless peasant that has recently been thrust into an unwanted life of royalty. And Steve will do absolutely anything to get his stolen jewels returned to him. Even put up with Tony Stark. But soon it becomes less about putting up with the man and more about... something else.(AKA the Once Upon A Time AU that nobody wanted)





	The Adventures of Prince Charming & Anthony Stark

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I have a few different things to say.  
> 1- Just as a warning, this is a WIP and, for the record, I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. Expect infrequent updates if there are any at all.  
> 2- I know that the arc reactor doesn't shoot lasers from it but I'm using it for plot convenience reasons cause I'm kind of lazy and it works. I am very sorry.  
> 3- I love Maria Hill even though I know she comes off rather cold and rude at the beginning. She is a BAMF and will hopefully prove to be in further updates, especially cause, spoilers, I am totally gonna set her up with Sharon Carter. Just you wait.  
> 4- Thank you for, potentially, reading this! I really hope you like it! :)  
> Alright- I think that's it! Read on!

**\--- Steve Rogers ---**

 

Steve Rogers stared out the window of his elegant carriage, feeling absolutely hypnotized by the stunning scenery surrounding him. They were travelling through the Enchanted Forest, down a much longer, deeper path than they usually took. This route would take them roughly an additional half hour to reach their destination, but the view they received in return was certainly worth the extra time. The sunlight was bright and plentiful despite the heavy tree canopy formed by the large, green forest encompassing them from all sides. Animals, deer, squirrels, rabbits, darted throughout, quick and unafraid despite the loud, bustling carriage disrupting the usual serene quiet. The air was filled with the sweet songs of the many birds that dwelled there, entirely worth a symphony of their own. The forests total beauty went beyond mere words but, perhaps, Steve could try to draw it- although, certainly, he would never be able to do it justice. Still, he could try (And fail) to capture the unrivalled beauty of the sunlight glimmering off the abundant greenery and the brightly coloured arrangements of wild-flowers scattered throughout. As soon as he could get a hold of any parchment and ink he could find, he would get to work, sketching until he was finally satisfied with the outcome.

 

Still feeling vaguely awestruck by his surroundings, Steve fell back into his comfortable leather seat with a dreamy sigh. Unfortunately, he was quickly brought back from his reverie thanks to a loud, disgruntled exhale from his dark-haired betrothed. Maria Hill was eyeing him through suspicious blue eyes as she swiftly smoothed down the already perfect skirt of her deep purple travelling gown. Remembering the severity of their arranged relationship and how they were to be married in less than a month’s time, Steve accidentally blurted out the very first thing to come to mind in an attempt to appear cordial. In reality, he was just feeling extreme pressure under the intensity of her gaze. “What do you think of the view, my dear?” he asked, a hint of dreaminess still lingering in his voice.

 

“I’ve seen better,” Maria replied in a bored tone, her wrist flicking back and forth rapidly as she cooled herself with an elaborate fan. “This is taking forever. I told you the troll road would have been quicker.” At that moment their carriage was abruptly jostled by some bump on the uneven road. She closed her eyes, pressing her delicately painted lips together to form a thin, red line. “And far less bumpy.”

 

Feeling slightly put off by her clearly charming nature, Steve carefully picked up the battered, leather pouch that had been resting beside him, the one that had belonged to his father, and studied it with doubting eyes. The pouch held the beautiful wedding ring of his mother- a simple, silver band with a small but glimmering emerald perching on the very top. Before he had left home, his mother had pressed the ring into the palm of his hand, wrapping his fingers around it with her usual gentle touch. She had implored him, eyes wide and hopeful, to find the person he loved, give them her ring and never make the mistake of letting them go. If only she could see him now. Days away from giving her ring to a woman he couldn’t even bring himself to like, let alone love. But it wasn’t as if he had any choice in the matter. An arranged marriage was an arranged marriage whether he liked it or not.

 

At a first glance, Maria did (and still does) appear to be quite the woman. She was as wickedly smart as she was beautiful- probably more so- and she also happened to be an incredible fighter, as Steve would readily admit from first-hand experience. But, still. Despite all her wonderful, positive qualities, he had a feeling that married life with Maria Hill wouldn’t be what he had always imagined for himself. Maria was quiet and stoic, often in a nasty mood for reasons Steve couldn’t quite, nor wanted to, decipher. Not to mention, they both came from entirely different worlds (Although he was fairly certain she wasn’t aware of that fact) and he feared that they were much too different to ever truly learn to love one another. But, given the lack of options he had for his own marriage, Steve supposed he could’ve done much worse than Maria Hill.

 

Although he was more than willing to take back that assessment when Maria snapped him out of thoughts with a dangerously controlled, “Are you even listening to me?”

 

Steve met her piercing glare with as kind of an expression that he could muster and forced his lips to quirk up into a gentle smile. “Yes, of course I am,” he reassured her, his words a blatant lie that he couldn’t bring himself to feel bad about telling.

 

Maria stared back at him, a glimmer of bored disbelief gleaming in the blue of her eyes. She opened her mouth, probably to make another passive-aggressive retort, but before she could say anything she was interrupted by the shouts of the coachman as he attempted to slow their horses. The carriage came to a relatively smooth stop and Maria sank back down into her seat, setting her fan down on her lap and narrowing her eyes in obvious irritation. “Now what?”

 

Knowing his place, Steve quickly climbed out of the lavish carriage, quite eager to get some space between him and his charming fiancee. He couldn’t imagine having to deal with these sort of interactions every day for the rest of his meager life. But… he was a prince and, apparently, princes didn’t get the ‘Happily Ever After’ he had always imagined they did. Or, at least, this prince didn’t. He supposed he would have to get used to a mere ‘Ever After’ instead.

 

Steve risked one last glance back at Maria before walking away, feeling a vague sense of wistfulness rising up inside of him. He wished he could love her- truly, he did. But, for some reason, he just couldn’t bring himself to. Perhaps, he was just too scared to allow himself to fall for her. Or, maybe, it just wasn’t written in the stars. Regardless of whichever reason was responsible for his lack of affection, Steve turned away from her and headed straight towards the front of the carriage where the commotion was currently coming from.

 

It didn’t take him very long to discover what had caused the seemingly random stop. There was a large tree laying right in the middle of their path. “Worry not!” he called back to Maria as he joined their coachman and guards. “It’s merely a fallen tree!” Steve walked closer, quickly finding the base of the tree and eyed it for a moment, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. There was something off with the image he was currently looking at but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. What was it? Steve was staring at the very root of their problem yet… Wait. Root. This may be the root of their problem but there weren’t any roots to be found here. The only thing he could actually see was a few rough markings along the very edge of the trunk.

 

He supposed he must have been looking at the plant quite strangely because one of their guards, Lang perhaps, suddenly spoke, prompting him with a simple, “My lord? What is it?”

 

“These markings,” Steve replied, running a gloved hand along the trunk. Suddenly, he realized exactly what this strange occurrence meant. “This tree,” he mused aloud. “It didn’t fall. It was cut.” He raised his head, staring directly into the forest in front of him with an intense gaze. Someone had cut down this tree with a purpose. They must have wanted to put a halt to their trip. Wanted them away from the carriage. But why? What could they possibly want…? “It’s an ambush,” he breathed quietly to the guards, placing a hand on the hilt of his sword and turning around slowly.

 

That’s when Maria began screaming from the carriage, her shrieks high-pitched and filled with a sense of urgency. Though he still didn’t love her and hardly even liked her at this point, her cries sent him sprinting towards her as quickly as he possibly could, fear making him faster than usual. He slid in front of the wide, open door of their carriage, peeking in and expecting to see a scared princess, trembling and curled in the corner, but instead, he found Maria’s angry face staring back at him. The only trembling she was doing was from fury and fury alone. “What are you doing?” she snarled, eyes sparking blue fire as she pointed past him, in the direction of the ambusher. “Don’t worry about me! That bastard stole your jewels!”

 

Now fueled with both adrenaline and a sudden rush of respect for his fiancee, Steve tore away from the carriage only to find that the thief had stolen one of their guard’s horses and was now beginning to ride off down the well-worn road. Not one to be outsmarted by scum like that, he turned towards the nearest horse he could find (A rich, chocolate coloured stallion that he was pretty sure belonged to Lang), mounted them and, without looking for permission from any of his guard’s, was now galloping as fast he possibly could towards his thief. Fortunately, his horse was one of the faster ones and he was easily catching up with the stolen steed. He was so fast, in fact, that soon Steve was riding side by side with his ambusher (Who was likely a man, due to his broad stature although Steve couldn’t be sure as they were being shrouded by a bulky cloak). Not wanting to risk them getting ahead of him again, Steve did what any logical person would- he abruptly leapt off his horse and tackled the thief right off of theirs.

 

They both landed, hard, on the forest floor, Steve rolling a few feet ahead, the movement easing his fall slightly. At least, he seemed to recover much more quickly than his unfortunate victim as he was soon pushing himself up off of the ground and to his feet. Slightly light-headed from the fall, he began to stumble clumsily towards his ambusher, who was still struggling to turn themselves onto their backs, let alone actually stand up. “Show your face, you coward,” Steve snarled in an attempt to appear much more fierce than he actually felt at the moment (Which was actually next to nothing). He fell to his knees beside them and grasped their shoulders firmly, before twisting them onto their back so that he could unveil them and finally see the awful face of his disgusting thief.

 

Unfortunately, everything did not go to plan. Steve pushed back their hood with one swift motion but the face hiding behind it was not nearly as unpleasant as he had been hoping it to be. In fact, it was quite the opposite. At that moment, Steve had a sinking feeling that he was looking at the face of the most attractive man he had ever seen, and probably will ever see, in his life. He was tan skinned with curling, dark brown hair that was just a tad too long. He also had the most astoundingly beautiful eyes- a deep, profound blue that was, at the moment, twinkling with mirth as he stared right back up at Steve. There was also the matter of his lips which were, in all honesty, deliciously full, and also quirking up into an amused smirk that seemed to imply that he knew the exact thoughts that were running through Steve’s mind (which, God, he hoped he didn’t).

 

To summarize the situation, his thief was a devastatingly handsome man which, really, didn’t bode very well for Steve because, well… He had a tendency to struggle when interacting with the more attraction portion of the population (don’t even ask about his introduction to Maria). This time was no different. It was safe to say that Steve was a goner the second their eyes met. As he floundered for something, anything, to say, his thief winked roguishly at him before hitting him square in the temple with a large rock.

 

Steve, suddenly overtaken by a brutal, piercing pain, fell to the side, giving the other man an easy escape route, which he, of course, took, sprinting over to his white stallion who had been waiting patiently by the road. Steve’s horse, however, had taken off to God knows where, which he happened to take notice of as soon as he managed to rise to his feet. Still, he ran forwards a few steps, hoping, in vain, that he could still catch his thief. But there he was, turning his horse around and galloping off down the beaten path, his mother’s ring in tow and all Steve could do was stare after the man in complete and utter despair.

 

“You can’t hide from me!” Steve shouted after him, in some attempt to feel useful despite his current state of helplessness. “Wherever you are, I will find you!” He raised a shaky hand to his temple, feeling the dampness of blood, despite his gloves. That damn man. How dare he be so distractingly good looking. That sort of attractiveness should be illegal.

 

The thief glanced back at Steve as he hurtled away, offering an amused grin and another shameless wink before turning down the dirt road and becoming hidden by the abundant, green bush.

 

Steve glowered after him but, eventually, he turned away too. He needed to let his fiancee know that she would be finishing this trip without him. He had a thief, and his mother’s ring, to find.

 

**\--- Tony Stark ---**

 

In hindsight, Tony really should have seen this coming. Things had been going much too well for him lately and given the astonishingly bad luck he had been suffering through these last few years (Possibly the last decade, although we’ll get to that later- Tragic backstory must be revealed at the most dramatic times possible and this? This was definitely not it), the fact that he had been having good luck at all should have rang quite a few different warning bells. At the very least he should’ve been able to tell that someone had rigged a poorly weaved net almost directly outside of his most recent hideout. But, alas, he, unfortunately, hadn’t and now he was paying the humiliating price of being trapped in that same net, swinging wildly in the air, ten feet above the forest floor he had just been standing on. Now, this was much more reminiscent of the kind of luck he was used to dealing with. But the icing on the horrific cake that had somehow become his life was the smirking, blonde noble who took this as an opportunity to saunter out of the brush, his cocky laugh reverberating throughout the small clearing they were in, A man who he had not only encountered before but had stolen from (Frankly, one of the easiest robberies he had ever managed during his short time as an outlaw in his own kingdom) less than a week prior to this mortifying capture. Oh, how the tables had turned.

 

Still chuckling to himself, the noble stepped further into Tony’s line of sight, his open expression filled with a barely contained satisfaction. “I told you I’d find you,” he mocked lightly, ambling towards his newly captured prey until he was standing almost directly beneath its prison. “No matter what you do, I will always find you,” the man finished, grinning up at Tony and crossing his arms across his broad chest in a manner that was practically radiating an arrogant smugness. Of course, out of all the people in the Enchanted Forest that happened to hate Tony and want to kidnap him (Which was, unfortunately, a long and ever-growing list), it just had to be him. God, how embarrassing. If he was going to get himself captured, at least let it be the Evil Queen orchestrating it- not this idiotic noble with a petty grudge. He truly was a disappointment to the Stark family name.

 

Tony glared down at the triumphant man through narrowed, calculating eyes, his gloved fingers tightly gripping the woven net as he desperately attempted to not look too foolish despite the fact that was currently trapped and unstably swinging in that said net. “Is this the only way you can catch a friend?” he inquired swiftly, raising a single, practiced eyebrow. “By entrapping them?”

 

To his neverending surprise, the noble didn't balk at his sarcastic tone but instead easily returned with the rather blunt statement of, “No. But it is the only way to catch thieving scum.”

 

Tony scoffed, tilting his head to the side in what he hoped appeared to be a condescending manner. “Well, aren’t you a real ‘Prince Charming’,” he retorted, his tone dry and just as frank.

 

“I have a name, you know,” the man responded lightly, his expression still too unbearably amused for Tony to deal with properly.

 

“Don’t care,” he quipped instead, allowing his lips to quirk up into an idle, lopsided smirk. “Charming suits you.”

 

The noble’s face broke out into a broad smile that very nearly made Tony wish that the huntsman who had been sent to kill him rather than heroically saved his life so he could live to experience this horrific encounter.

 

“Now cut me down, _Charming_ ,” he growled, all traces of his lazy grin completely vanishing from his face.

 

Charming chuckled again (Why couldn't Barnes have just let that dagger fly?), seeking to find this situation much more entertaining than Tony did. “I'll release you when you return the leather pouch you stole with my jewels.”

 

Tony’s eyes flickered fleetingly to the left as if he were actually considering the noble’s last statement before rapidly shaking his head, his lips pressing together into another thin smile. “Not the jewelry type,” he remarked, turning his steely gaze back to Charming.

 

“Indeed,” he conceded, eyeing Tony with an appraising expression before dipping his chin downwards in acknowledgement. “I noticed.”

 

Tony reeled backwards in his woven prison, letting his mouth fall open in surprise (A rare feat that few were able to accomplish) before quickly composing himself. “What is that supposed to mean? Are you insulting me?”

 

“No, quite right. My apologies,” the noble deadpanned, his tone dry. “How dare I cast aspersions at the person who robbed me?” He paused for a short moment, watching Tony with a look of careful consideration. “Where are my jewels?”

 

“I sold them,” Tony emphasized, leaning forward in the net so that his face was pressing into the rough rope.

 

Suddenly, Charming’s gaze had gained an urgent quality to it, marring the wary amusement that he had previously been wearing. “What?” he inquired, the question itself barely audible.

 

“What do you care? Don’t you have a palace full of treasure somewhere?”

 

“They were special,” Charming insisted, a steady hand rising to rest on his leather-clad hip. “Among them was a ring that belonged to my mother.” His earnest tone was enough to get Tony to believe his statement but then he noticed a small, barely visible swallow that seemed to, oddly enough, convey that, somehow, this fearless Prince Charming was frightened of something. Or, perhaps, someone. “A ring I was about to give-”

 

“The nag with the bad attitude? That’s what this is about?” Tony interjected, disbelief colouring his formerly monotonous tone of voice.

 

The noble hesitated a beat too long before responding with, “She’s my fiancée.” Although, it sounded more like he was simply sharing a fact of life rather than defending the woman he was supposed to love and marry.

 

Tony nearly burst out into loud, booming laughter but, somehow, he managed to suppress that particular urge. “Good luck with that. You must be getting something pretty impressive to have agreed to that union,” he remarked, humour filling his voice as he shot Charming a crooked grin.

 

“Excuse me?” he challenged, his eyebrows furrowing in question. He shifted slightly as well so that, despite the entire net situation, both of his hands were now resting within one short, easy reach from the hilt of his sword.

 

“I know how this works,” Tony replied dismissively, ignoring the warning that had layered Charming’s tone. “True love? It doesn’t exist.”

 

The noble glanced away at that, most likely in order to gain control of the annoyance that he was surely feeling towards the man he currently had trapped in a net.

 

“It’s all arranged marriages and business transactions. There’s no such thing as love at first sight or true love’s kiss. Let me guess-” Tony drawled, staring Charming down with a knowing look. “-her kingdom wants to take over yours and this is, what? A last ditch effort to avoid war?”

“This is not a takeover,” the noble began, stretching one hand out in front of his body in a defensive manner. When Tony merely smirked at him in return, he continued, his voice raising reflexively. ‘It’s- It’s a merger and, quite frankly, it’s none of your business. Now, this is what’s going to happen.”

 

“Mmhmm,” Tony hummed, resting his chin between two coarse pieces of rope and closing his eyes.

 

“I’m going to cut you down-”

 

“Mmhmm.” He nodded his head slightly, the movement practically microscopic, and opened his eyes so he could eye Charming from underneath his lashes.

 

“And you are going to take me to whoever has my jewels-”

 

“Mmm.”

 

“And then you are going to get my ring back.”

 

“Mm-mm.” Tony shook his head, pursing his lips together. “Now why would I do that?”

 

The noble’s smirk returned, full force, in that same, self-satisfied way. A way that appeared to be saying, Funny you should ask, even though this situation wasn’t funny in the least. Tony instantly regretted his question. “Because you don’t want me to tell anyone who you really are,” Charming responded, his tone slightly hushed as if he were revealing a secret. He then proceeded to reach inside his jacket and pull from it a crumpled sheet of paper. Then, with all the flourish of an actor on the stage, he smoothed out the paper, raising it so that Tony was able to the see the simple sketch of himself on one of the Wanted Posters the Queen had developed and Charming was now holding, his lips pressed together into a thinly veiled smile. “Anthony Stark.”

 

Tony remained silent, forcing his features to stay blank and unassuming (Though his thoughts were the exact opposite- unfortunately aware and absolutely panicked), and merely eyed the noble, waiting to see what he would do next.

 

“Help me get my ring back or I turn you over to the Queen’s forces,” he stated calmly, lowering the poster to his side. “And I have a feeling the Queen’s not as-” he paused for a moment, fishing for the proper word and giving Tony enough time to contemplate whether it truly was too late to go back and find Barnes. “-charming as I am.” A familiar smug, triumphant smile was now resting fully on his lips.

 

Tony considered the situation for a moment before finally coming to a decision, his expression and tone of voice both clearly displaying how aversed he was to this outcome. “Well, I wouldn’t want to stand in the way of your getting true love.”

 

“Mmm,” Charming hummed in idle agreement before pulling his sword from its scabbard and easily slicing through the rope that had formerly been holding the net, and therefore Tony, in the air, allowing Tony to crash to the forest floor with a high-pitched yelp that just about destroyed the very last shreds of dignity he happened to have left.

 

“Thanks Charming,” Tony gasped, his back pressing uncomfortably into the ropes that had only just been holding him in the air as he struggled to catch his breath. “You know, I wasn’t too sure about the name thing at first but now I believe that you have truly earned it.”

 

“Well, I should hope so,” the noble quipped, now standing directly over Tony, one well-muscled arm reaching out as a way to help him to his feet. “Now get up, Stark. We have a ring to find.”

 

**\------**

 

Travelling through the Enchanted Forest with Charming at his side, Tony was beginning to think that, perhaps, this silly quest wasn’t going to be nearly as bad as he feared it would be. For the most part, the pair walked in relatively companionable silence- well, as companionable as it could possibly be after the person you were were walking with has captured you in a net and threatened to alert the single person that wanted you dead the most of your survival. But, other than that reassuring thought, it was a fairly pleasant walk. In all seriousness, Tony was enjoying the silence. It gave him a chance to think, a chance to plan. Well, at least until Charming decided to ruin his good name and start talking again.

 

“I thought you weren’t the jewelry type,” he remarked casually, glancing over at Tony with a glimmer of mild curiosity brightening his blue eyes. “What’s that beneath your tunic?”

 

Tony’s eyes flickered downwards to his chest where his fingers had been tapping a simple rhythm along the cool, metal reactor that protected his heart. A bright, blue light radiated from it, revealing a fainter, paler version as it struggled to shine past the thick fabric of his shirt. Quickly, Tony forced his hand to fall to his side and returned his gaze so that he was, once again, staring straight ahead at, yet totally unseeing, the scenery surrounding them. “Don’t worry about it.”

 

Apparently his dismissive response wasn’t nearly enough to alleviate Charming’s curiosity because after a beat of silence and then, so abruptly that Tony was startled into stillness, he reached out with his free hand and pulled down the neckline of Tony’s tunic in order to see the source of that strange, otherworldly, blue light. “What’s that?” he breathed in amazement, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion as his eyes flickered back up to look at Tony.

 

“Careful!” Tony snapped, awkwardly stumbling backwards as he suddenly regained the ability to move again. “It’s- It’s a weapon!” he lied, pressing the palm of his right hand over the reactor- whether to protect it or to simply hide it from sight, he wasn’t quite sure.

 

“Really?” Charming inquired doubtfully, his tone and the practiced raising of his eyebrows both displaying how truly skeptical he was about Tony’s improvised explanation.

 

“Yes. Yes! It’s a- It’s a repulsor. When there’s danger I can shoot a laser-like beam from it and subdue any enemies I might need to.” Strictly speaking, what Tony said wasn’t entirely untruthful. His reactor did, technically, have the ability to do exactly that- It’s just there was also an 80% risk that using that particular ability could result in Tony falling unconscious and, therefore, becoming vulnerable. So, not his favourite option. Also, that wasn’t its primary use, either. But he wasn’t about to tell Charming, someone who would surely use that information against him in the future, that this fearsome, dangerous reactor was also a machine that protected his heart from the shrapnel that always lurked much too close for comfort. He wasn’t that stupid.

 

The noble’s familiar and unbearably amused smirk was, once again, returning to his lips as he eyed the vaguely flustered expression on Tony’s face. “Then why didn’t you use it on me?” he asked, clearly thinking that he had backed Tony into a corner. What he didn’t know, though, was that finding his way out of corners was a speciality of Tony’s.

 

“‘Cause you’re not worth it,” he responded, his tone now monotonous and his gaze growing ice-cold. He was hoping the conversation would end there but then Charming chuckled, his head and shoulders shaking with mirth, causing Tony to bristle and continue on, a defensive note now tinging his voice. “It takes a lot of power to run this thing,” he snapped, the reactor lightly with his pointer finger. “And I’m saving it up for someone special.” Which, again, wasn’t entirely a lie. He just hadn’t considered using his reactor on the Queen until this particular moment. Tony began walking again, brisker than before, in the hopes that it would finally shut the noble up but, alas, it did not.

 

“Ah, the Queen,” Charming remarked, now walking a short step behind Tony. “You’ve got a lot of anger there, don’t you Stark?

 

Tony sucked in a short, shallow breath before quietly stating, “The charges on her posters are lies.” He paused, shaking his head slightly in remembrance. “But it didn’t stop her from sending her huntsman to piece my heart with one of her ‘special’ daggers.”

 

“What happened?” the noble questioned, genuine curiosity radiating from his voice like an auditory representation of the light from Tony’s chest.

 

“Well, not everyone is a soulless royal, you know,” Tony countered, turning on his heel and stopping to face Charming with a pointed look. “He took pity on me and let me go.” His gaze softened slightly and he turned away, glancing back into the woods that they’d already passed through. “I’ve been hiding in the forest ever since. Trying to amass enough fortunate to leave this place. Escape to another realm.” Tony’s eyes flickered back to Charming’s and he held his gaze, a determined expression now resting upon his face. “Something isolated. Where I can never be hurt.”

 

“Sounds lonely,” Charming commented, an oddly sympathetic look calming his features.

 

“No lonelier than an arranged marriage,” Tony quipped, although his voice was quiet and there was no real bite behind his words.

 

But apparently the petty noble had very little knowledge on tone and sarcasm and took this as an insult because he quickly shot back with, “At least I don’t prey on the innocent.”

 

“Up until now,” Tony immediately defended, that intense expression never leaving his face despite the new meaning behind it. “I’ve only ever stolen from the Queen. I thought your carriage was one of her. No one else uses that road.”

 

“I took the scenic route,” Charming protested, looking vaguely offended that Tony had accosted him because of his choice in road.

 

“Well, lucky for me,” Tony replied sarcastically, pausing in surprise as Charming smiled in response to his choice of words. But then the shock faded and he continued on just as fiercely as before. “All I'm doing, Charming, is what it takes to survive. She wants me dead,” he emphasized, slightly irritated by the fact that that damned grin was still quirking up the corners of Charming’s lips. He turned away from the noble, his movements controlled and deliberate, and continued walking.

 

It was quiet for a moment and Tony nearly thought the conversation had finished when Charming decided to start speaking. Again. (Side note: he was really going to have to get used to this ‘talkative’ thing) “So,” he began, his footsteps falling heavily on the forest floor beneath him. “What did you do to incur that much wrath?”

 

Tony stopped once more, staring straight ahead, his voice growing distant once again. “She blames me for ruining her life,” he surmised, voice quiet.

 

“Did you?” Charming asked when he didn't elaborate and Tony could practically feel his curious stare burning into the back of his skull.

 

“Yes.” And without going into any detail, Tony continued on, leaving the bemused noble to stare after him in surprise. “Come along, Charming,” he called after a moment, his tone still lacking any real emotion besides a casual boredom. “Your precious ring won't find itself.”

 

And without arguing, or saying anything at all for that matter (Finally), Charming started walking again, the sound of his footsteps disrupting the peaceful quiet of the forest around them now an oddly comforting sound to Tony, rather than irritating. Now, if he could only avoid any more unpleasant conversations perhaps this journey could actually be half-decent. Although, given his long history of bad luck, Tony had a feeling that that wasn’t about to happen anytime soon.

 

**\------**

 

After nearly another hour filled with practically silent hiking (Practically. Unfortunately, Charming appeared to have a thing for small talk), they arrived at a rushing river partly concealed behind the boughs of a few, small trees. Almost immediately, Tony felt a plan begin to form, his mind whirling at top speed as his eyes flickered around him, taking in the beautiful but uninteresting scenery. Once Charming had stopped (One step behind as, what now seemed like, usual) Tony turned to him, letting his features slacken into an expression of careful nonchalance. “I’m thirsty,” he remarked, making sure his tone was perfectly polite and submissive. He glanced at Charming once quickly before allowing his eyes to drop and then return in a way that was almost hesitant. But, of course, this was all part of his design. “May I?” he inquired, tilting his head to the side, attempting to make the small gesture look as innocent and unassuming as possible.

 

Apparently, it worked well enough because the noble was already nodding his head in a few, rapid movements of agreement before replying, “Sure. Make it quick.”

 

The pair made their way down to the bank of the river and Tony knelt down first, running his hands through the fast-moving water before cupping them and bringing them to his lips for a quick drink. The water was rather refreshing but he did not let that fact distract him from the task at hand- The plan once again running through his head at a speed equal to, if not greater than, the water in the river. Tony glanced over at Charming to get a sense of whether he suspected anything out of the ordinary but he too had knelt down and was just leaning over to take a sip of his own. Tony felt like laughing- This was almost too easy. Frankly, this big, tough noble was a hell of a lot more naive than he looked.

 

Tony stood just as the other man was straightening up from his drink, his plan running through his head one last time before he finally put it into action. As Charming rose to his feet, his body twisting towards Tony at just the right angle, he lashed out, his knee flying upwards to strike the noble directly in the stomach. He grunted, stumbling backwards in surprise but before he had a chance to fight back or even react to the attack, Tony was shoving him towards the river where he proceeded to fall into the fast flowing water behind him. He landed on his back, the water already pulling him away from the riverbed, a look of shocked betrayal flickering in his blue eyes and turning down the corners of his lips. In response, Tony merely threw him a clumsy, half-hearted salute before turning on his heel and dashing back into the forest from which they had come.

 

As he ran with only the sounds of his short, shallow breaths and the hard pounding of his feet on the forest floor to keep him company, Tony couldn’t help but almost regret his decision to push and leave Charming in the river. While he was certainly irritating and brash and arrogant and stupidly reckless… What was he talking about again? Oh, yes, of course! Why he was going to miss the horrendous man. And why was that again? Tony’s lips quirked up in an exhausted half smile at his own commentary. Why the hell did the Queen want to kill him? He was an absolute delight! But, anyways, while Charming was sometimes (And by that he meant constantly) difficult, he couldn’t help but think that, perhaps, he had been right when he had remarked upon how lonely Tony’s plans for the future sounded. His venture into the woods was already rather lonely- what would life be like in a realm where he knew no one and no one knew him? But, surprisingly, for the first time in, well, a long ass time, with Charming by his side, Tony couldn’t help but feel a little less lonely. Nevertheless, like most good (Or perhaps it would be more effective to say mildly pleasant) things in his life, they never lasted. It would have come to an end sooner or later and maybe, at least in this particular case, sooner would be a hell of a lot better than later.

 

About five minutes into his daring escape, Tony came to a crossroads, as the main dirt road he had been following split into several different paths. And, for the life of him, he couldn’t remember which way he needed to go in order to return to his latest hideout. Unfortunately, his escape plan hadn’t accounted for this. Not willing to risk getting lost in a forest that was seemingly endless, Tony spun around to begin running back the way he came but stopped short at the sight of three of the Queen’s knights on huge, black stallions trotting towards him, blocking his path.

 

“Huh,” the middle knight, and apparently the one in charge, mused, sneering at him from atop his quite literal high horse. “Look who we found.” The other two guards, as if given some silent command, proceeded to surround him behind, leaving their leader alone in front.

 

Tony’s mind was already racing, trying to figure out some kind of plan but the only one he could think of at the moment that seemed even remotely viable was much too risky to actually work. He could take out one, maybe two, of the guards with his reactor if he was lucky, but definitely not all three which was going to prove to be a problem, especially if he accidentally put too much power into the thing, causing him to blackout in the middle of a fight. It just wasn’t worth the gamble.

 

The middle knight climbed down from the back of his horse and took an intimidating step towards Tony, an ugly, smug smirk darkening his visible features. “There’s nowhere to hide,” he drawled, as the horses blocking his back exit whinnied and stamped the ground impatiently from behind him. “The Queen wants your heart.” Tony heard the smooth, whining sound of metal being unsheathed and now the knight was holding a short, sharp dagger as he continued to casually meander closer towards him. “And we’re not going to disappoint her.”

 

Tony had been so focused on the swaggering man leering at him that he hadn’t even noticed the second knight creeping up behind him until he was being shoved into a nearby tree, a firm arm pinning his shoulder against the rough bark. He struggled, trying to free himself from the guard's tight grasp but he was surprisingly strong and Tony wasn’t exactly in his prime at the moment. The leader of their ragtag group stepped forward, his strides slow and confident as he expertly spun his dagger with one gloved hand. “Hold him still,” he snarled, as Tony, once again, tried to squirm away, struggling to keep an uncaring expression off of his face despite this being a situation he definitely needed to care about. The knight raised his dagger into the air, both hands tightly grasping the hilt, his features darkening into a look of complete and utter fury.

 

That’s when Tony finally realized that, perhaps, this was one situation that he wouldn’t be able to get himself out of. Well, that is, until the knight suddenly went rigid and toppled over onto the forest floor beside him, another gleaming dagger sticking out of his leather-coated back.

 

Tony’s head shot upwards, searching for the source of that well-aimed throw. It took him a moment but eventually he spotted the outline of a tall, muscular man standing behind the cover of the forest. Or, well, he was standing behind the cover of the forest. Now he was stalking towards Tony and the remaining two guards, a stupidly determined expression marking his face. Charming.

 

The sight of Charming somehow how alleviating the shock that had frozen him in place, Tony whirled around taking the guard that was supposed to be holding him still by surprise. While the final guard ran up to confront Charming, Tony threw a hard, accurate punch at his new friend, hitting them just under their sternum, where their solar plexus was located. The guard doubled over, the wind effectively knocked out of them, but they did not fall unconscious like Tony had hoped. He pulled a deeply dissatisfied face but did not waste any more time as he darted over to the closest, unattended horse, swiftly mounted it and took off down the dusty forest trail without so much as sparing a glance behind him. Over the sound of his horse’s hooves slamming against the ground, Tony could still hear the shouts and whimpers of the guards who were, he could only assume, being completely and utterly decimated by his noble. He smiled darkly at the thought. As much as Charming annoyed him in the short time that they had spent together, Tony couldn’t help but have grown a little fond of him as well. Especially since the man had just came and, y’know, saved his ass even after Tony had shoved him into a river.

 

Now feeling slightly guilty about running away without a second thought for the safety of his saviour, Tony let his horse slow to a stop and slid easily off the back of his steed. As he had a quick, internal debate about whether he should turn back and see whether Charming was in need of assistance, he heard the sound of footsteps speeding towards him, fast and loud. Tony whirled around, his heart thudding erratically in his panic, desperate to see who was coming to attack him this time. But, to his neverending surprise, it was only Charming. How the hell had he gotten here so fast?

 

Charming skidded to a stop in front of him, panting heavily, his blue eyes roaming over Tony as if in search of any injuries that he might have acquired in their short time apart. He still looked a little wet- his hair a bit darker than it had been before- from the swim Tony had forced upon him. “Are you alright?” he questioned, his fingers tightening on the bow he had used to shoot that guard down.

 

Tony pressed the palm of his right hand to his chest, directly over the location of his arc reactor, and turned to look at the blond noble through cautious, narrowed eyes, his left hand grasping the reins of his horse. “You, uh… You saved me,” he remarked, his breaths still coming in short, shallow gasps.

 

Charming stared at him, eyes wide, as his chin bobbed up and down in a few quick nods. “It seemed like the honourable thing to do.” When Tony didn’t respond (Choosing instead to gaze right back at him with this strange glimmer of what appeared to be disbelief gathering in his eyes), he swallowed and said, “Are you ready?”

 

“For what?” Tony asked, the rise and fall of his chest now beginning to level out.

 

Charming furrowed his brows, seemingly bemused by his inquiry. “My jewels,” he replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. And perhaps it was, perhaps Tony had just let himself be misled by the fact that Prince Charming had just rescued him from the Queen’s Guards. Perhaps he had simply misconstrued his actions and his relief when he found out that Tony was safe. Perhaps all Charming truly wanted was his precious jewels back and Tony was just the best way of accomplishing that.

 

After a moment of embarrassing silence, Tony straightened up, blinking up a few times at Charming letting his expression revert back into one of limited emotion. “Right, you’ve got a wedding to get to.” He paused, letting his gaze drop from Charming’s, so it was now staring off into the distance instead. “The trolls I sold them to are just beyond the next ridge,” Tony informed, brushing some of his dark curls from his forehead. “We need to be careful.”

 

“What?” Charming scoffed, his expression dubious. “Of trolls?”

 

“You’ve clearly never met one,” Tony remarked, allowing his eyes to drift back to Charming’s for a moment before abruptly turning them back over to his horse.

 

“Aren’t they just little people?”

 

Tony released a small, breathy laugh, swivelling to face Charming again with a tiny glimmer of amusement now sparkling in his eyes. “You’re thinking of dwarves. Show a little respect,” he berated, his expression now turning a bit more serious. “They’ll cut your hand off sooner then they’ll shake it.”

 

The noble exhaled loudly, his breath whistling through his teeth. “Well then, let’s get this over with.”

 

“Yes, we’ve both got places to be. So, let’s go,” Tony deflected as he started walking, his body language stiff and cool.

 

“You have your lonely little corner of solitude to find,” Charming quipped, beginning to walk as well, his own body language much more comfortable and familiar.

 

“And you have a ringless fiancée to appease.”

  


**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!! My tumblr is @gosh-mr-big-brain if you'd like to come and visit me!


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